The strategic goal of this research is to improve scientific understanding of coral reef ecosystems throughout the Pacific, and serve as the basis for improved conservation and resource management. The recent designation of the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument highlights the importance of this research.

With their extremely isolated location, many of the Pacific Remote Island Areas host a vibrate marine ecosystem.Previous Pacific RAMP cruises have documented relatively high coral cover and diversity; and high densities of large-bodied reef fish including large numbers of apex predators such as Grey Reef Sharks (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos) and Scalloped Hammerhead sharks (Sphyraena lewini). Many of these apex predators are rare near human population centers. AS in previous years, this Pacific RAMP cruise will perform a suite of standardized multi-disciplinary methods which include Rapid Ecological Assessments (REA) for fish, corals, other large invertebrates, and algae; towed-diver surveys for large-bodied fish and habitat composition; and oceanographic studies, which include the measurement of conductivity, temperature, and density of the water column (CTD casts); water sampling; and deployment of sea-surface temperature (SST), subsurface temperature recorders (STR) and acoustic doppler current profilers (ADCP).Scientists will also be deploying Ecological Acoustic Recorders (EARs) to learn about changes in the presence and activity of marine mammals, fish, crustaceans and other sound-producing marine life when researchers aren't there to record it otherwise. Autonomous reef monitoring structures (ARMS) will also be deployed as part of the CReefs project. ARMS are simple, standardized collecting structures designed to roughly mimic the structural complexity of reef habitats.They allow for the identification of small, hard-to-sample, but ecologically important cryptic invertebrates. ARMS are being utilized throughout the Pacific and globally to systematically assess spatial patterns and temporal changes ofbiodiversity.Use of the EARS and ARMS are an exciting addition to RAMP data collection efforts.

Follow along below to learn more about where we are going, what we are seeing, and what we have found ...

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Looking Above Water; Jarvis Island Revisited

Written
by Chris Depkin, photographs by Jiny Kim

Chris Depkin
surveys the wildlife at Jarvis Island

A Masked Booby
(Sula
dactylatra ) chick awaits
its mother's return

Jarvis Island National Wildlife Refuge
(NWR) has something to offer everyone. As you can see by exploring
previous blog entrees, the underwater world is exceptional by any
standard. However, if you were to crawl out of the water, up onto and
over the coral rubble that forms the beach, you would see a dazzling
view of life on dry land equaling that of the surrounding coral reef
community. After days on the open ocean all of your senses would be
simultaneously assaulted by the sound of thousands of nesting seabirds,
the sight of verdant island vegetation and the fragrance of
life, reproduction and death. You see, Jarvis Island, only a little
over one thousand acres in size, is the only land within thousands of
square miles of open ocean. As such, this island provides the only
suitable conditions for as many as 13 or more different seabird species
of birds, in numbers often exceeding several hundred thousand, to mate
and reproduce.

The isolated nature of Jarvis Island (> 200 miles from the next
nearest island) makes visitation difficult and is generally accomplished
only once every two years. On 01 April, two members of the US Fish and
Wildlife Service, Jiny Kim and Chris Depkin, were dropped off on the
north-west shore of the island. They spent the next 5 days and 4
nights exploring the terrestrial environs for the purpose of assessing
the state of the seabird communities, looking for signs of unauthorized
human presence, identifying and neutralizing any hazards to wildlife,
mapping and inspecting the island’s vegetation communities for changes
in distribution patterns and looking for recent, non-native plant
introductions.

A White Tern
(Gygis alba) finds
a perch to view its surroundings

Jarvis Island supports very few
plant species most of which are low growing. There are no trees on the island. During previous
visits, plant species were described as brown, and dried with little
flowering, dead or not detected at all. Our first impression of the
island was astonishment and wonder at both the diversity and extent of
coverage of the vegetation. Well over half of the island was bright
green with at least 8 species well represented and most either flowering
or in seed, or both.

A Hermit Crab
searches for food

However, conditions favorable for plant growth and
reproduction (excessive rain fall) are not necessarily conditions
suitable for seabird nesting. The unusual amount of rainfall at Jarvis
is likely a result of the recent El Niño-Southern Oscillation event
(ENSO) which can bring about large scale changes in regional weather
patterns once every 3-5 years. These large scale changes, and in
particular changes in sea surface temperature (SST), also affect the
distribution, abundance, availability and predictability of prey items
critical to successful nesting.

The region is just now
emerging from the current El Niño event and our visit to Jarvis seemed
to support the above. Although thousands of seabirds were present during
this visit, the vast majority were in the very early stages of nesting,
either sitting on eggs or standing around, on territory, getting ready. Chris and Jiny documented the presence of very few chicks either alive or dead
(dead chicks indicate earlier breeding attempts that failed) which
indicates little or no nesting has occurred here over the last several
months. Very preliminary and crude estimates suggest there were less
than 150,000 birds present on the island during this visit. Previous
visits place estimates well over one-million birds present during peak
nesting.

After walking
more than 30 miles during the 5 day period, locating and counting
breeding birds and mapping vegetation distributions, Jiny and Chris were
picked up where they were dropped off, not to return for another 2
years.

Jarvis Island is without question a rare
jewel set in the vastness of the Pacific Ocean. On January 6th, 2009,
President George W. Bush established the Pacific Remote Islands Marine
National Monument. Jarvis Island NWR along with Howland and Baker island, Johnston, Wake, and Palmyra Atolls, and Kingman Reef are all
included in this new Marine Monument which contains 86,888 square miles of
mostly open ocean and the above uplands. The areas designated by this
new Monument are used by over 4 million breeding tropical seabirds and at least 10 million more that are pre-breeders or
migrants passing through those waters on their way to Northern and
Southern breeding grounds. Protecting these remote
places cannot be overstated, important not only for the marine and
terrestrial organisms that live there but for the enjoyment, benefit and
educational opportunities afforded future generations.

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The mission of the Coral Reef Ecosystem Division is to provide sound science to enable informed and effective implementation of ecosystem-based management and conservation strategies for coral reef ecosystems of the U.S.-affiliated Pacific Islands Region.

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